A plea for fish on World Day for the End of Fishing 

By Allison Donohue 

Globally, the oceans are emptying. Schools of fish are being trapped in nets and dragged from their homes, while larger, unsuspecting fish are gaffed from the ocean’s surface by long, barbed spears. It doesn’t matter if fish are commercially caught in a sweeping dragnet or hooked on a lazy afternoon from your favorite pier: Commercial fishing is responsible for killing billions of fish every year, and “recreational” anglers only add to this number. Each of these fish was an individual who had a complex social life, a unique personality and the ability to feel pain. 

That’s why, this World Day for the End of Fishing (March 24), you should leave your hooks and fishing rods in the garage and instead enjoy a cruelty-free afternoon by the river or the sea. Be sure to pack a lunch of fishless filets. Fish need everyone’s help to stop the mass carnage, and it starts with you putting down your fishing rod or fork full of flesh. 

Across the globe, commercial fishing regulations often go unheeded, making it impossible to know how many fish are really torn from the sea each minute. Not to mention the hundreds of other species pulled up and killed unintentionally—and nonchalantly. Dragnet or purse seine fishing, in which heavy nets are dragged across the seafloor, ripping apart the natural habitat, result in hundreds of tons of by-catch, or unintentionally caught sea life. Picture it: sea horses and sea turtles tangled in nets, dolphins and young fish torn from the ocean—all of whom are then discarded as waste. 

Fishing is destroying our largest ecosystem: the ocean. Over half of the ocean’s population has vanished over the past 45 years. If we continue to fish for food and sport, this number will keep rising until our oceans are mere pools of emptiness—mirrors for us to gaze into and wonder, what happened? 

We must stop causing fish—and our environment—this unnecessary pain. Yes, fish, like all animals, can feel pain. They feel the hook cut their lip and the sharp nylon of the net cut into their body; once above water, they thrash and fight in the open air. Whether an animal has fur or gills, is silent or audibly cries out, there is no excuse for abuse. 

Like us, fish are vertebrates with advanced cognitive powers and the ability to create memories. Although we can’t hear them, fish talk to one another with squeaks, squeals and other low- frequency sounds, all of which help them maintain close friendships over many years. Many fish have excellent vision, they can see color and they love physical contact, often gently swimming near each other just like your cat or dog gently brushes against your leg. Like us, fish are smart and resourceful; the blackspot tuskfish, wrasse and cichlids use tools throughout their day to build their homes and locate things to eat. Most importantly, fish have complex sensory perceptions—they feel everything from relief to pain—and they suffer greatly when they are caught and torn away from their homes and families. 

This World Day for the End of Fishing, let’s leave fish in peace by putting down the fishing rods and trying some faux fish sticks. Grab a pair of binoculars and marvel at the dolphins jumping in the warm, off-shore waves. Or kneel in the shallows and let the rainbow of coastal fish circle your ankles. Most importantly, spread the truth that fish are interesting, intelligent animals and they deserve, like us, to live.